From all accounts, the 2024 Tobago Carnival came off without major incident and was branded a success by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).
In fact, it was reportedly such a resounding success that Tourism, Culture, Antiquities, and Transportation Secretary Tashia Burris has hinted that the THA may consider expanding the festivities to four days next year, reportedly based on the positive feedback from stakeholders and masqueraders.
Even National Carnival Commission chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters, who was critical of the organisation of last year’s event, rated it much better this time around—an 8.5 out of 10—saying it was on an upward trajectory.
This sentiment was echoed by Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell, who said he was impressed with how the Carnival had developed since its inception. He referenced the particularly high returns for hoteliers on the island this year, adding it had brought a boom to the tourism sector.
Now that the dust has settled on the event, however, our hope is that the THA will provide the evidence to back up its claims that the event went well and was truly all that it was made out to be.
This, we hope, will be done following a post-mortem with all the key stakeholders, where there is data supporting the outcomes.
For example, both the THA and the Tobago October Carnival Association interim president Dexter Sandy, have claimed that between 30, 000 to 37,000 visitors flocked by air and sea to the island for the event, which was in its third season this year. Business interests were also reportedly happy, especially in the areas of accommodation, where hoteliers and small to medium sized entities reported near-maximum occupancy levels.
Yet, some of the announced figures do not seem to add up, with the T&T Police Service reporting that it provided security for just over 8,000 revellers over the two days of actual masquerading. So, does this mean that some 22,000 visitors were in Tobago for activities that were unrelated to the actual high point of the Carnival?
Progressive Democratic Patriots leader Watson Duke has already challenged some of the numbers provided. Focusing on the accommodation sector, he has noted the island has not advanced much past the 5,000-room stock featured in a 2016-2017 Oxford Business Group report. Naturally, he has asked the THA to account for where the over 20,000 visitors would have stayed. Pointing to the fact that the budgets for the last three Carnivals have dropped from $17.5 million in the first year to $9 million this year, Duke has also argued that even with the significant reduction, the THA and Government by extension, cannot afford to waste money on endeavours which do not fully benefit the citizens.
Following on this, therefore, we hope the THA will do its due diligence and provide the details to match its boast of success after this year’s Carnival, compared to the previous two installments.
Simply put, the State cannot afford to continue bankrolling an activity which is not sustainable across the board.
As such, we await Secretary Burris’ full account to the public on the true numbers behind this year’s event, as well as her reveal of a solid economic blueprint on the way forward.